Propositions
by Jesse Drache
Summary: Bright wants Colin back C/E/B
1. Bright's Proposal

Propositions By: Jesse Drache 

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me. 

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. 

Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future. 

Chapter 1: Bright's Proposal

Bright stood by his open locker glaring across the crowded hallway at his sister's locker. 

He watched Amy search through her locker looking for some book or random object waiting for her to notice that Colin had come up behind her and was waiting to surprise her when she looked up. 

An emotion very close to anger ran across his face when he saw Amy smile up at Colin and deliver a quick kiss on his cheek. 

He couldn't keep his fists from clenching when he saw the small smile that crept up Colin's face before he turned and walked off to his next class. 

Scanning the crowd, he managed to spot Ephram a small distance down the hall looking at Amy with a heartbroken look on his face. 

Bright let out a disapproving sound, before slamming his locker shut and walking towards the perturbed boy. 

"Ephram, come with me. I need to talk to you," he said, stepping into Ephram's line of sight. 

"Leave me alone Bright, I don't have the strength to mess around with you right now." 

Bright noticed the slump of Ephram's shoulder as he watched Amy walk into her English class. 

"Come on," Bright said, grabbing Ephram's arm and pulling him in the opposite direction before he had another chance to protest. 

***

Pushing Ephram into an empty classroom, Bright glared at the boy until he took a seat on the teacher's desk. 

"Ok, so why are we here?" Ephram asked, crossing his arms and looking defiantly at Bright. 

"Because I have a proposition for you." 

"I'm not interested," Ephram said, his gaze not wavering. 

"What if it could get you Amy?" 

Bright saw the small shift that went through Ephram's features and smiled knowing he had the other boy's undivided attention. 

"Why do you want to help me get Amy? I saw you staring at her and Colin. It's obvious that you hate seeing her with anyone, even when it's your best friend. If you want Amy alone, do it yourself." 

For a moment, Bright was at a loss for words. _Ephram had been watching him? _

"It's not about Amy, it's about Colin." Bright said softly. 

"Colin? Why Colin?" 

"Because I want him back." 

"Back as your best friend? Is Amy taking up too much of his time?" Ephram asked, sarcasm tainting his voice. 

"Not as my friend, as my boy-boyfriend," Bright said, his voice becoming a whisper. 

"Excuse me, but I swear you just said that he was your boyfriend," Ephram said, laughing softly. 

"That's what I said," Bright said, looking down at his feet nervously and avoiding the other boy's gaze. 

"What about Amy and Colin?" 

"Colin was going to break up with Amy, but he was worried about hurting her. Only Lainey knew that we were together. Since he woke up the coma he's forgotten all about me, about us. But I want him back." 

Bright continued to stare at the ground and he did not meet Ephram's eyes even when he felt the boy get off the desk and step closer to him. 

"So what's your plan?" Ephram asked. 

"Basically, to get Amy to fall in love with you. When she breaks up with Colin, I'll be there to take her place. That way Amy doesn't get hurt and I get Colin back." Bright stated with a shrug. 

Ephram seemed to contemplate Bright's plan for a moment before letting out a breath and stating, "There's one problem with your plan. There's no way that Amy would leave Colin for me." 

Bright stared at Ephram's dejected posture and noted the morose tone of his voice. 

"Leave that up to me," Bright told him, not knowing what to say to Ephram's self-depreciating comment. 

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of the bell ringing. 

"Shit, I've got to go to Chem." Ephram said, grabbing his bag from the desk and moving towards the door. 

"I'll meet you back here during lunch and we can keep talking. Think over what I said," Bright told Ephram, getting a brief nod from the boy before he ran off to his next class. 


	2. Lunch

Propositions By: Jesse Drache 

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me. 

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. 

Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future. 

Chapter 2: Lunch

Ephram walked through the cafeteria, a red tray in his hands, scanning the tables for a place to sit.  

He gazed over to his right where Amy, Bright, and Colin sat at the "popular" table and immediately turned the other way towards what looked like an empty table.

He was stopped by the sound of a familiar voice behind him calling his name.  

"Hey, Ephram!"  

He turned around to see Colin waving a hand at him and beckoning him over.  

"Hey," he said, standing in front of the table and looking around at the blank faces of various cheerleaders and basketball players.  

"Why don't you sit down?" Colin asked, moving closer to Amy and making room for Ephram to sit.  

"It's ok, I was just going to sit over there," he said, motioning at the empty table.  

"We have enough room here," Colin said, putting his hand on Ephram's tray and pushing it down.  

Ephram glanced around the table again, catching the encouraging look that Bright gave him and noting that Amy didn't even look up from her unappetizing gruel.  

Ephram reluctantly sat down at the open spot and started to quietly eat his lunch trying his best not to attract any unwanted attention.  

***

From his seat across the table, Bright watched as Ephram slowly ate his lunch.  

The boy made occasional comments when a question was directed his way, but mostly he kept to himself, not saying anything.   

Bright watched Ephram, thinking back to the day before when Bright had told Ephram the basic outline of his plan; it had taken him half-an hour just to convince Ephram that with his help he could get Amy.  

Bright scoffed at the memory of Ephram self-depreciating behavior and turned his attention back to Colin and Amy who were discussing what to do that weekend.  

***

Ephram looked up from his lunch glad that Bright had finally decided to shift his gaze to a different subject.  

Slowly he looked around at the group only to find that they were each too involved in their conversation to pay any attention to him.  

He lowered his eyes and pretended to stare at his food as he actually watched Amy, Colin, and Bright talk to one another.  

It amazed Ephram how blind they all were how blind he had been.  

The fact that Bright wanted Colin was written all over him, in the way his eyes roamed the other boy's face almost predatorily or in the jealousy that passed like a wave over Bright's features every time Amy brushed her hands over Colin's arms or shoulders.  

He looked like he was ready to pounce and rip her delicate fingers off the darker boy's back.  

It was almost cute, the way that Bright's face flushed with anger as Amy leaned up to kiss Colin, the red tint that colored his cheeks made him look entirely too kissable.  

Ephram shook his head, not believing that the thought had actually come from his mind, but he did not have time to analyze the notion because he soon found that everyone's eyes were on him and that a waiting silence permeated the air.  

"What?" he asked, shaking his head in confusion.  

"Are you coming with us to the lake this weekend?" Amy repeated, giving Ephram an amused look.  

Ephram looked around at Colin's expectant face and before of him were he briefly caught Bright's gaze and the encouraging nod that he offered.  

"Sure," Ephram said, smiling at the thought of spending the weekend with them.  

Yet a small voice in the back of his head wondered, whether he was going because Amy invited him, or because the quick glance that Bright shot him had done all but beg him to go.


	3. Cabin by the Lake

Propositions By: Jesse Drache 

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me. 

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. 

Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future. 

Chapter 3: Cabin by the Lake

Ephram sat pressed against the car window in the cramped cabin of Bright's red truck.

Unsuccessfully he attempted to ignore Colin's proximity but found himself rubbing against the other boy every few minutes.  

Silently he begged God for the ride to be over soon, he was tired of making mindless small talk with Colin and Bright, while Amy sat uncomfortably between her brother and her boyfriend.  

He let out a relieved sigh when Bright turned the car down a small, overgrown road and came to a stop beside a small cottage.  

As soon as the engine was off, Ephram opened the door and jumped out, glad to finally be out of the cramped car.  

He watched as Colin, Amy, and Bright also got out of the car, not catching the questioning look they gave one another at his apparent need to get out of the car.  

"Do you remember the last time we were up here?" he overheard Amy say to Colin and for a moment, Ephram felt sympathy towards Colin.  

He had spent the last few weeks watching everyone prod and poke at Colin's mind in hopes that they would be able to squeeze out a few memories from him.  It almost made him sad to imagine what it would be like to be surrounded by complete strangers, each with their own set of expectations.  But almost as fast as the sympathy had come, it was gone.  

It had been erased by the picture of Amy affirming Colin that he would remember and reaching up to kiss him softly.  

"Come on, let's go swimming," Bright said, seeing Ephram's murderous gaze and interrupting their kiss by throwing a towel at Amy.  

***

"Hey," Bright said, sitting down next to Ephram on the couch.  

"Hey," Ephram retorted continuing to look past Bright and out the window.  

"Look, when we get out to the lake, don't go in the water."  

"Why?  Is there some big crocodile out there waiting to eat me or something?"  Ephram sarcastically, still not looking at Bright.  

"No, but Amy never goes out to swim, she always stays on the shore getting some sun.  It'll give you a chance to talk to her alone.  Plus from the looks of it, you could use some sun."  Bright teased. 

"Oh," was Ephram's only reply.  

***

Ephram and Amy lounged on a pair of beach towels by the side of the lake.  

Amy was stretched out, attempting to expose as much skin to the sun as possible while Ephram sat beside her in his bathing suit.

Occasionally he would give Amy a furtive glance, but mostly he just sat and took in the scenery.

At first he had tried to talk to Amy about school or her life, but it had all led back to Colin.  

After a while, Ephram had stopped listening, and Amy had stopped talking.

She seemed to be content to sit in silence and get a tan.  

Ephram's attention was distracted from Amy by the sound of laughing coming from the lake.

He turned and gazed at the opposite shore where Bright and Colin where horsing around by a small dock. 

Ephram watched as Colin and Bright threw one another into the water and attempted to push each other under.  

Ephram wished that he could be out there hanging out with them instead of sitting on the shore with Amy, and the realization was more than slightly troublesome. 

***


	4. A Streetcar Named Desire

Propositions By: Jesse Drache 

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me. 

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. 

Rating: PG-13 

Chapter 4: A Streetcar Named Desire

**_This chapter is also available in an NC-17 version if any of you would rather read it instead f this PG-13 one. You can find it on my webpage, under my Everwood fanfiction. _**

"Hey Ephram!" Bright yelled, chasing the dark haired boy down the hallway as he made his way towards the exit. 

"Hey man, how are you doing? We were supposed to meet last night but you didn't show up." Bright said, catching up to Ephram and getting in step with him. 

"Sorry, must have forgot," Ephram said, not bothering to look up. 

"Are you ok?" Bright asked, looking sideways at Eprham. 

He was met with silence. 

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home," Bright said, concern evident in his voice. 

"It's ok, I'll ride my bike." 

They continued walking down the hallway, Bright staring at Ephram, Ephram staring at the ground. 

When they reached the parking lot, Ephram headed for the bike rack, and grabbed his bicycle, ignoring the fact that Bright stood behind him the entire time, studying his movements. 

"We need to talk," was all Bright said, before grabbing Ephram by the arm and dragging him towards his truck, bike in tow. 

Ephram didn't say a word, just let himself be dragged and pushed into the passenger's seat. 

Bright took the bike and threw it in the back of the truck, then got into the driver's seat and started the car. 

***

Ephram sat unmoving while Bright drove them past the school and onto Ephram's street. 

He turned into Ephram's driveway and turned off the engine. 

For a moment they both sat there neither moving nor daring to look at the other. 

Finally Bright turned to face Ephram, taking in the boy's nervous demeanor. 

Ephram was staring at a spot on the dashboard, his hands had a vice-like grip on his book bag and his knuckles had turned white. 

"Ephram, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you or jump you or anything." Bright said, trying to use humor to break the tension, but Ephram just got more rigid. 

"Ephram talk to me. Did something happen between you and Amy? I could talk to her, maybe smooth things over. Are you having second thoughts about our plan? Come on Ephram say something," Bright almost pleaded, trying to work some words out of the other boy. 

"Whatever it is, we can fix it, please just say something." Bright put his hand on Ephram's shoulder, hoping to get the other boy to speak. 

Slowly, Ephram looked up, meeting and holding Bright's gaze. 

For a moment they stayed like that, then Ephram leaned in and closed the gap between him and Bright, digging his hands in Bright's hair and pulling the boy closer while he devoured Bright's mouth. 

Not feeling any response from Bright, Ephram grew very still and slowly moved away, averting his gaze his face turned as red as the truck. 

Bright gaped at Ephram for a moment in shock, then sensing the other boy's reaction, he leaned forward and attacked the other boy's mouth with as much fervor as Ephram had shown him moments before. 

Bright cupped Ephram's chin as he slipped his tongue in Ephram's mouth as he ran his other hand down his back and under both of Ephram's shirts. 

Ephram moaned into Bright's mouth as Bright's hands begun to roam up and down his back, tracing lazy tiny circles on his back. 

"What about your dad and Nina?" Bright managed to get out as he kissed Ephram's chin. 

"They're at a school play with Sam and Delia," Ephram answered, fighting for breath before recapturing Bright's lips. 

Bright pushed himself up off his seat and closer to Ephram, pressing the other boy against his seat and bringing his hands to the front of Ephram's shirt and teasing his nipples. 

Bright smiled when he felt Ephram's hands hesitantly touch his back and begin to mimic Bright's movements.

They kissed until they were both out of breath, then Bright pulled away stroking Ephram's cheek and bringing the other boy's eyes up to meet his in a meaningful glance. 

"Glad to have cleared that up," Bright finally said, leaning down to capture Ephram's lips once more before the boy jumped out of the car and walked into his house, a smile on his face. 


	5. A Simple Request

Propositions   By:  Jesse Drache

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me. 

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. 

Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future. 

Chapter 5: A Simple Request

Ephram sat on Colin's couch staring straight ahead at the TV and trying his best to ignore the couple beside him and the longing glances that Bright seemed to shoot over his shoulder every few minutes.  

_How can they be so damn oblivious?_ he asked himself as Bright leaned back, in what he thought was an inconspicuous manner, and looked behind Ephram (and what appeared to be through Ephram) to Colin.  

Ephram concentrated on his breathing, attempting to slowly it down as he counted his erratic heartbeats.

Looking at the TV, yet ignoring what was actually going on, he attempted to determine why he was so uncomfortable in the presence of his friends.

His heart was racing, his palms had grown sweaty, and his face had become slightly flushed with what could only be jealousy.  

_It was nothing,_ he said to himself, _just some romp in the car.  He loves Colin.  _

Ephram found that rather than calming him down, the words infuriated him more.  

Slowly, he fisted his hands and dug his nails into his palm in an attempt to distract his mind as he intently stared at the movie.  

He didn't really understand why Amy had decided to tag along during their ritualistic anime fest since she really wasn't into the movies and spent the majority of the evening yawning and occasionally napping on Colin.  

Ephram theorized that some part of Amy recognized some threat from her brother and couldn't bear to part with her boyfriend on a Friday evening.  

Ephram sighed amusedly, maybe Amy wasn't as oblivious as they all thought.   

Ephram felt something brush past his arm and just barely repressed the instinct to jump before he realized that it was merely Colin shifting closer to him in attempt to allow Amy more room to sleep.  

Ephram felt all the muscles in his back tensed as he was tightly pressed between Colin and Bright.  

He felt Bright lean over, attempting to get closer to Colin, as if Ephram were something to be compressed until nothing stood between Bright and the object of his affection.  

The tight environment begun to mess with Ephram's mind and he just couldn't take sitting there anymore.  

Ephram jumped up, making Colin and Bright jolt and waking Amy from her sleep.  

They all looked at him, questions in their eyes.  

"I-I've got to go to the bathroom," he managed to get out, before turning and fleeing into another part of the Hart's home.  

Ephram shut the door behind him, turning on the faucets on cold water and waiting for it to pool at the sink before splashing it on his face.  

He stared at his reflection.  

_What the hell has happened to me? h_e asked himself as he took in the paleness of his skin and the bags under his eyes.  

Sighing heavily, he shut off the water and left the bathroom, turning off the light behind him.  

***

As soon as he stepped out of the sanctuary of the bathroom, he was met with the sound of the movie and Colin and Amy's laughter.  

Not wanting to go in just yet, Ephram turned left and walked into the kitchen under the pretext of getting a glass of water.  

He pulled a glass from the cupboard and turned on the faucet, putting the glass under the stream and waiting for it to fill.  

Ephram jumped and almost dropped the glass when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  

Shutting off the water, he turned to find himself face to face with Bright.  

"Are you alright?" Bright asked, "I didn't mean to scare you."  

"It's ok, I just wasn't expecting you."  

"What's going on?" Ephram asked, leaning against the counter.  

"I wanted to ask for a favor," Bright asked, smiling at Ephram sheepishly.  

Ephram nodded, not saying a word.  

"Will you please drive Amy home?  I kind of want to stay here and hang around with Colin.  You know, see if I can jog his memory or something," Bright waited, staring at Ephram attempting to gauge his reaction.  

He was met with silence.  

"Please?" Bright said, leaning in and gently stroking Ephram's cheek with his left hand, while placing the keys in Ephram's hand with the other.  

Involuntarily, Ephram closed his eyes then nodded, his hands closing painfully around the keys.  

"Thank you," Bright whispered, his breath ghosting over Ephram's lips.  

Ephram caught his breath in a sharp gasp as Bright's lips descended upon his, all thoughts escaping him.  Ephram moaned as Bright's tongue entered his mouth briefly before retracting and leaving him wanting for more.  

***

When Ephram stepped out of the kitchen looking rumpled five minutes later, Amy and Colin were waiting by the door saying their good-byes.  

"Come on," Ephram said, grabbing his coat and holding the door open while Amy went through.  

As he closed the door, he caught a glimpse of Bright coming out of the kitchen, his clothes as they were before.  

He was hit with another surge of jealousy as Bright walked up behind Colin and he turned, leaving the door open and walked to the car.  

As he made his way to the car, he tried to steer his thoughts away from the fact that he was leaving Bright and Colin all alone in Colin's deserted house and focusing on the fact that he had never driven a car.

***

"Thank you for the ride.  It was…interesting," Amy said, smiling amusedly as she got out of the car.  

"You're welcome." Ephram said.  "Here are the keys, will you please return them to Bright in the morning.  I'd better not tempt fate and walk home instead."

"Ok," Amy said, taking the keys and walking towards the house.  

As she opened the door and went inside, she turned to look at Ephram as he sadly walked away, rejection written in all his features.  


	6. Revelation

Propositions   By:  Jesse Drache

Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me. 

Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. 

Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future. 

Chapter 6: Revelation

Ephram made his way through the crowded hallway, weaving his way through the massive amounts of people as he fought to get to his locker.  

Spinning the combination lock, he managed to get the thing open without any problems and searched through the mass of books heaped at the bottom until he found his math and physics books.  

Shoving them into his bag, he produced his history book, and returned it to the locker before closing the door with more force than he had intended to put behind it.  

To his misfortune, the door closed to reveal Bright, staring at him with an amused look on his face.  

"Mad at the locker are we?" Bright asked, cheerfully ignoring Ephram's irritated expression.  

Without a word Ephram pushed past Bright and down the hallway attempting to put as much space between him and the other boy.   

_What?  Is this the official let's all be mad at Bright day?_ he asked himself before turning to follow Ephram.  

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for driving Amy home.  I really needed the time to work things out with Colin.  Amy also said she appreciated the ride, from what I hear it was an experience," Bright said, catching up to him and attempting to lighten the mood by joking.  "Are you mad that you had to ride your bike to school because we did go by your house this morning to pick you up, but your dad said you'd already left."  

"Come on, Ephram what's wrong?  Why are you mad?  Is it because of Colin?"  

_Hmmm, maybe he's not as dense as we all though_, Ephram thought sarcastically, cringing at the mention of Colin's name.  

Bright noticed Ephram's reaction and succumbed to the silence when he realized that he would get no answer from the other boy.

_That's it_, he though triumphantly as he determined the source of Ephram's angst.  

"Nothing happened between us, we just talked.  Actually he's also rather angry at me at the moment, something you guys seem to have in common.  Come on, say something or I'm not going to leave you alone."  

Ephram relented, hearing the determination in the blonde boy's voice.  

"Nothing's wrong I'm fine.  What makes you think there's anything wrong?" Ephram snapped pointedly not looking at the other boy.  

Bright moved closer to Ephram and leaned down to whisper something in a conspiratory manner in the boy's ear.  

"Well, for one thing," he whispered, "your physics class is in the other direction."  

Ephram stopped mid-stride and glanced around him.  

"Damn!" he uttered under his breath, then without another word, he gracelessly turned and walked in the other direction leaving Bright alone in the hallway.  

Bright watched him go.  

"You're welcome!  Fuck!" he yelled as he saw Ephram disappear into the crowd.  

Sensing the gazes that had suddenly settled on him due to his outburst, he glanced around meeting everyone's gaze, and smirking at scowling teacher before resuming his walk in the general direction of his next class.  

As he walked past an open classroom, he caught a glimpse of Colin's face and the look that he found there chilled him to the bone.

***

The Previous Night 

Colin yawned loudly as the movie ended and the credits begun to roll.  

"Wow, it's already midnight.  Remind me never to let Ephram choose the movie.  Only he would want to watch a four-hour anime on a school night.  Why did he go home anyway?  I thought he was in it for the long haul," Colin said, stretching.  

"Because I asked him to."  

"Why'd you do that?  We need someone to explain what's going on.  Between falling asleep and general confusion, I'm pretty sure I missed half of the plot," Colin said jokingly.  

"I asked him to go home because I needed to talk to you," Bright said, looking intensely at Colin.  

Turning to meet Bright's gaze, all playfulness left Colin and he sobered under the other boy's burning glare.  

"Ok.  What's wrong?  Is it about Amy?" Colin asked, concern seeping into his voice.  

"No, it's not about it Amy."  

"Well, what is it about?" Colin pressed, unconsciously moving closer to the blonde boy.  

Bright took a deep breath, looking into Colin's eyes.  

"Colin," Bright begun, placing his shaking hands on his knees in an attempt to still them.  

"I want you to know that before the accident you and I were…" A lump formed in Bright's throat and he stopped.  

"Yes?" Colin pressed.  

"We were…together."  

"Bright I know this, you told me.  I told you that I forgave you," Colin said, reaching out to clasp his friend's shoulder.  

"No, that's not what I meant.  We were together like-like you and Amy are together.  We were dating," Bright said, reaching to his shoulder and taking Colin's hand in both of his.   

"What?  No, you're lying," Colin said, trying to pull his hand back but Bright's grip was too tight.  

"I'm not lying.  Think about it Colin.  You were going to break up with Amy for me, for us.  We were together Colin, I have proof," Bright said, pleadingly.  Taking one of his hands away from Colin while using the other to impede the other boy's escape, he reached in his pants pocket to remove a wrinkled letter.  

"Read this.  You wrote this to me on our first month anniversary.  Look at it, it's in your handwriting.  These are your words," Bright said, pressing the letter into Colin's hand and making him look at it.  

Colin took the letter from Bright's trembling hand.  

It was true, he recognized the handwriting it was the same as in all of the other things that he had found in his room.  This was the old Colin's handwriting and the bottom of the letter was signed "With Love, Colin".  

"It means nothing," Colin said, crumbling the letter and throwing it at Bright.  "This was someone else.  I don't even remember him.  It means nothing."  

"It means everything.  How can you not remember?  Remember this," Bright said as he picked up the letter with one hand and used the other to pull Colin to him before he crushed his lips against his.  

"No!" Colin yelled, pushing Bright away from him and getting up.  "Get out," he said.  

Bright didn't move.  

"Get out now!" Colin yelled pointing at the door and watching Bright slowly stand up and put on his coat, putting the crumpled letter in his pocket.  

He looked at Colin saw the anger in his eyes.  

"I'm sorry," he whispered before stepping out the door and into the front porch.  

He heard the door slam shut behind him and his shoulders slumped.  

Standing under the dimmed porch light, he looked around him at the darkened houses and put his hands in his pockets in an attempt to conserve his warmth.  

His left hand brushed against the crumpled letter and he slowly pulled it out.  

He looked at the familiar writing and at the words that he had long since memorized.  

A surge of anger overtook him and he begun to tear the letter apart.  Slowly he let his hands open and watched the pieces fall into a meaningless pile on the floor of the Hart's porch.  


	7. Lessons

Propositions By: Jesse Drache Disclaimers: I don't own Ephram, Colin, Bright or any other characters you might recognize, I'm just borrowing them for my amusement. So don't sue me.  
  
Warning: This is Ephram/Bright/Colin slash; if you don't like it, don't read it. Rating: PG-13 but will get up to NC-17 in the future.  
  
Chapter 7: Lessons  
  
"Colin, what's wrong?" Amy asked pulling away mid kiss and taking in Colin's distracted expression.  
  
"Nothing," Colin remarked gazing down at his hands rather than at Amy's face.  
  
She had been asking him that all afternoon and it was driving him crazy. Every time he looked at her, her face was twisted into a mask of concern and worry.  
  
He waited a moment before slowly looking up, hoping that somehow her mood had lightened up.  
  
His hopes were torn apart when he caught sight of Amy's face, her face held the familiar look of concern that he had almost grown used to.  
  
Colin turned away not wanting to face the person that reminded him the most of his problem.  
  
He didn't want to admit to himself that every time he kissed Amy some part of himself, a part that he kept pushed back down in the dark recesses of his head was comparing her kisses to Bright's. That same voice was growing stronger and stronger telling him with every touch that it was all completely different and completely the same at the same time.  
  
Their lips felt the same, although Amy's were slightly softer than Bright's, they both held the same inherent shape.  
  
Kissing Amy was like sinking into something warm and comfortable like wrapping himself in a warm blanket during a cold night.  
  
There was nothing comfortable about kissing Bright.  
  
Once Bright's lips descended upon his, electric jolts begun to surge through his body and it was somewhat reminiscent of plunging into a tub full of cold water.  
  
Bright's lips aroused feelings within Colin that made him want to scream in surprise, yet something completely familiar about them made Colin want more.  
  
"Colin?" Amy interrupted into his reverie not knowing that she was part of the cause of his distress.  
  
Colin felt her touch his arm, her hand an insistent tie to the present world.  
  
"Yeah, sorry," Colin offered as a meaningless excuse for his daydream.  
  
"Look, Colin, you're obviously somewhere else today. Actually you have been for weeks. If you don't want to do this, us, then tell me right now," Amy said, anger clear in her voice and mannerisms as she stood up.  
  
Colin looked up at Amy, dropping her hand at a loss of words.  
  
"Fine, if you don't know what I mean to you, then I guess I'm in the wrong place," she said loudly barely controlling her anger as she walked out of his house, slamming the door behind herself.  
  
***  
  
Bright meandered through the streets of Everwood, clearly avoiding going home.  
  
Amy would probably be home soon and Bright did not want to see her face.  
  
Colin should have told Amy what happened the previous night and she would make a scene.  
  
She always did when things concerned Colin and Bright didn't really feel like coming out to his parents because of a fight with Amy.  
  
Sighing Bright turned the corner onto Everwood's main street taking in the few stores that had managed to survive the invasion of supermarkets and grocery stores.  
  
Looking up and aimlessly scanning the crowd, Bright spotted a dark haired boy wearing headphones walking ahead of him.  
  
His heartbeat sped up, but Bright managed to control it by taking in a few deep breaths.  
  
It's probably not even him, how many guys in this town have dark hair? Probably dozens, he told himself, but as he watched the boy walk into the town's music store, all doubt left him and Bright increased his pace and followed.  
  
***  
  
Ephram wandered through the store, stopping to glance at CDs while his current selection blasted through his head drowning out the sounds of the real world.  
  
It amazed Ephram how much more comfortable, how much more amiable the world seemed when there was music to provide a soundtrack and provide an escape from the normal nuisances of the world around him.  
  
Arriving at the stand of sheet music, Ephram paged through the books separating the ones that immediately sparked some interest before going through those once again in search for the perfect one.  
  
Finally deciding on a particular piece, Ephram returned the discarded works to their appropriate places and turned towards the cashier only to run straight into a warm pillar of flesh.  
  
"Sorry," Ephram said, moving out of the way without bothering to look up to see who he had run into.  
  
He was surprised when the body stepped in his path once again successfully impeding his progress towards the cash register.  
  
"Look, I don't know what your problem is-" he began, tearing off the headphones and looking up to gaze angrily at Bright's face.  
  
"Great, just what I needed, a run-in with the resident dumbass," he said, attempting to maneuver out of the boy's way only to find Bright blocking his path yet again.  
  
"Ephram, I need to talk to you," Bright said, reaching out to grasp Ephram's shoulder.  
  
"Why, you've got Colin and now I'm free to go after Amy. Wasn't that our plan?"  
  
"No. Well, yes, but-" Bright stammered.  
  
"You don't need to explain yourself to me Bright. I'm not your keeper, your boyfriend, or even your friend. As far as I'm concerned this was all merely a business transaction. No one's feelings were hurt and now that we have achieved our ends, everything can go back to normal," Ephram said, struggling out of Bright's grip.  
  
"Ephram I'm not letting you go anywhere near that cash register until you agree to talk with me," Bright said, determination in his voice.  
  
"Fine, here you go, hope you even count past the first page," Ephram said, shoving the book at Bright, then turning around and walking out of the store before Bright had a chance to react.  
  
***  
  
Bright walked up the Brown's front steps considering all of the reasons why this was a bad idea but sill forcing himself to go up the stairs and to the door.  
  
He raised his hand to knock on the door but stopped when he heard the sound of a piano flowing out of the house.  
  
Bright dropped his hand and walked down to the end of the porch to end up standing in front of the window.  
  
Silently he watched as Ephram's hands flowed over the keys making the music that had Bright enthralled.  
  
Bright noticed that Ephram was not alone, but that a boy-no a man-sat on the bench next to him.  
  
For a moment, Bright felt a surge of possessive rage flare through him as the man leaned in to say something to Ephram while the boy played, but the feeling died down when he took in the Ephram's posture.  
  
Ephram was hunched over the keys, staring straight at the music or at his fingers. He didn't even look up when he stopped playing and the man continued to make comments on his playing.  
  
Ephram looked nervous, almost shy, and completely different from the boy that he saw constantly at school. There Ephram never looked shy, just distant, guarded and he never let down his guard like he was now.  
  
Bright was jarred out of his thoughts by the door opening.  
  
He turned to find the man stepping out of the front door, jacket in hand, a questioning look on his face.  
  
"Friend of Ephram?" the man asked, as Bright stepped up to the door.  
  
"Uh-yeah, I just came by to say hi," he lied. "I'm Bright."  
  
"I'm Matt. Ephram's piano teacher. I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to run. It was nice meeting you, Bright," the man said, leaving the door open for Bright as he turned and walked to his car.  
  
Bright watched the man to go, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders as Ephram's relationship to the man was cleared up. He turned to give Matt's retreating car a final look before walking into the house where Ephram was still playing on the piano oblivious to his presence.  
  
***** 


End file.
